Cape Colonial Government
The Cape Colonial Government (the CCG) is the official name of the executive branch of the government of the Cape Colony. It is led by the Prime Minister, who is elected by and from the Cape Parliament. The Prime Minister, after his election, must form a government, and does so by appointing other Members of Parliament to his cabinet. For this reason, and not unlike other Westminster parliamentary systems, the executive and the legislature overlap to a large extent. The Cabinet, with the Prime Minister at its head, can therefore be considered the upper echelon of the CCG, while the bulk of the Civil Service is the lower echelon. The government is a statutory institution and is governed by legislation. The Executive Government Act, which was first passed in 1912, established the CCG as an official body led by the legislatively elected Prime Minister. It has been amended continuously since then and is supplemented by various other statutes. Prime Minister Main article: Prime Minister of the Cape The Prime Minister is the head of government of the Cape Colony. The leader of the majority party within Parliament, or alternatively, a negotiated candidate from a coalition of parties, as is the case today, usually becomes the Prime Minister after a majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) approve it. The Prime Minister is then ceremoniously recognized by the Governor General on behalf of the Queen, and starts his tenure. The Prime Minister serves a six year term unless he is recalled by Parliament through a motion of no confidence. The most important and notable duty of the Prime Minister is the implementation of legislation as passed by Parliament. He, along with the cabinet ministers he appoints, act on behalf of Parliament and remain members of that body. There is therefore only marginal separation of powers between the executive and the legislature; a feature of the Westminster system of government. The current Prime Minister of the Cape is Leonard Christianson, the second black person in the Cape's history to occupy the office. Cabinet and executive departments Cabinet ministers (each known as a "Minister of State") are appointed by the chosen Prime Minister to lead the various legislatively established departments of state. These departments are staffed by civil servants and come under the executive leadership of the secretary of that department - a usually permanent posting not dependent on which party is in government. The Secretary acts at the pleasure of the Minister of State. Parliament or the Minister of State may establish a subdepartment within that department and must appoint a minister to its political leadership. The Secretary is also responsible for the executive interworkings of the subdepartments, and himself appoints undersecretaries to assist him. Civil Service The Civil Service is the organization responsible for delivering government services, both to the various state departments themselves as well as to the people of the Cape. The cabinet Minister of State for the Civil Service is responsible for oversight and enforcement of universal standards, while the other cabinet ministers and their secretaries have managerial autonomy over the employees of their respective departments. Secretaries within the other state departments are seen as dully responsible to their department's Minister of State, as well as to the Minister of State for the Civil Service. The Civil Service excludes employees working directly for local government, Parliament or the judiciary. See also *Cape Parliament *Cape Colonial Court Category:Cape Colony (SWM)